Hogan's Alley
by Gib
Summary: Answer to a fic prompt, Mac does something dangerous, Jack gets mad. G.I Jack and Mac


A/N: This is a a response to a fic prompt/request from WynonaRose, I hope I got it right.

Thanks to Dlwells51 for correcting my punctuation and suggesting just the right words here and there.

Prompt: I need a story where Jack gets so mad at something Mac does that he is practically speechless, then finally sputters out that there is a trip to the woodshed if it ever happens again. Don't know what Mac does, but it was very dangerous and nearly gets him killed.

Warnings: A bit of foul language but nothing that's not on TV.

Disclaimer: I own nothing having to do with the show.

0-0-0

The humvee was leaving a cloud of dust in it's wake as it sped down the wide gravel and dirt road.

The driver's eyes constantly scanning the road ahead. Jack sat in the front passenger seat, scanning the distant hillsides for any possible threats, he turned to check on his passengers.

In the back seat, Mac's eyes were closed, head leaning against the door frame. Jack smiled and shook his head.

Turning back to scan the countryside, ''Whaddya think Boxer, these guys getting younger or are we just getting old?" Jack asked the other Delta operator that was driving.

"Hell, Wyatt, we were old the minute we came outa boot camp." Boxer smiled, "I hear they recruited ole Mac there right outa kindergarten."

At the mention of his name, Mac opened one eye, "It wasn't kindergarten Boxer, It was first grade."

"Man, just when I thought it couldn't get any hotter, they really need to rethink the design of these things," the specialist said from the back seat, starting to roll the window down.

"Lookie here, son, leave that window up, don't want any bullets gettin in here. Just keep drinking water, you'll get used to the heat." Jack said from the front seat tossing a bottled water to the specialist.

Mac smiled and sat up, Jack's Texas accent was always more pronounced when he was dolling out advice, especially when giving it to new guys.

"Sorry, Sarge." The specialist said as he opened the water.

"Name's William, but everybody calls me Billy," he said sticking his hand out toward Mac.

"Mac." Mac introduced himself. He noticed the name badge on the soldiers vest. "You're last name is Kidd?" Mac said eyebrows raised.

Jack turned around in his seat, "seriously? Billy Kidd..." Jack turned around and laughed, slapping Boxer on he shoulder. "You believe this Box, we got us a genuine outlaw in our midst."

Billy smiled, his face turning red with embarrassment.

Mac leaned over toward the specialist. "Don't mind him," he glanced at Jack. "You should have heard Jack, the first time he heard my name."

Billy leaned even closer to Mac trying not to be overheard, "I thought Sarge's name was Wyatt?"

Jack looked up into the mirror and smiled, looking at the specialists reflection. "Name's Jack, only my Dad and Boxer here can call me Wyatt."

"Yes Sarge," Billy said a little more at ease.

Mac sat up straight and was watching the road as the humvee started to slow.

Billy looked at the two men in the front, they were also on alert. Jack held his rifle, muzzle pointed at the floor in front of him.

"Billy, this here's Hogan's Alley, we cleared this a couple days ago but haven't had a chance to come back and make friends, keep your eyes open." Jack said as they were coming closer to a small village."

Billy's heart raced, he watched as the road narrowed, "I see why you call it an alley," Billy said nervously.

"Just keep your eyes open," Jack said seriously, all the humor and teasing forgotten.

"Boxer stop!" Mac yelled.

Without hesitation the humvee skidded to a stop sending Billy into the back of Jack's seat.

"IED, in the road I think, I'm gonna go check it out." Mac said putting his helmet on and reached back to grab his satchel.

"Box, get on the horn and get us some air support. Billy, get up on that Fifty. Mac, stay put, we're backing outa here until we get some air overhead." Jack ordered rapid fire.

Boxer put the humvee in reverse and sped backwards as fast as he could go.

Five seconds later, the road exploded behind the humvee, the shockwave rocking the humvee and it's occupants.

Boxer slammed on the brakes, "son of a bitch!, where to boss?" He yelled to Jack as he put the vehicle in drive.

"No where to go, we're gonna get hit, where's my air?" Jack growled in return. Watching outside the vehicle.

"They'll be on station in twenty, callsign's Hoosier." Boxer reported quickly.

Mac pulled Billy down into the cab. The specialist was unconscious.

"How's he doin Mac?" Jack asked without looking back.

Mac quickly checked the specialist, looking for wounds. "I don't see anything, I think the blast knocked him out. Don't know if there's anything internal, but his pulse is normal." Mac looked up to see where they were at.

"What'r we doing here Wyatt? Can't go forward, can't go back. What're you thinkin?"

Boxer asked listening to the radio traffic coming from their base.

Mac looked up, "I got this, just sit tight." He said grabbing his bag and jumping out of the humvee."

"What the... God dammit!" Jack yelled when Mac jumped out.

Jack opened his door and turned to look at Boxer. "Keep monitoring comms and get a bird in the air for Billy."

"You got it," Boxer said smiling.

Jack slammed the door and ran to the wall on the other side of the street. "God dammit Mac, get your ass back here!" Jack yelled.

Mac waved him off, and kept advancing toward the area he'd originally thought had an IED hidden.

Jack was walking slowly, carefully placing each foot in the tracks Mac had made.

 _"Dust off will be here in thirty for the Kidd, said we need to get out of the village to a clear area."_ Boxer said over the comms.

 _"Well no shit, what do they think we're trying to do?"_ Jack asked angrily.

Jack heard Boxer laughing and looked back toward the humvee glaring. The Delta operator had climbed in the back seat and was manning the fifty caliber, covering his teammates.

 _"What the hell are you laughing at Box? the shit's about to hit the fan and that damn kid is gonna get himself killed."_ Jack said pointing to Mac who was slowly walking up the road hugging the wall.

 _"Better go catch up with little brother Wyatt, he's gettin away."_ Boxer said pointing toward Mac.

Jack flipped him off and turned to follow Mac. _"Damn kid's gonna get me killed right along with him."_ Jack said over the comm.

 _"He's good for you Wyatt, keeps you on your toes,"_ Boxer said. _"Got movement..."_

"Contact right!" Boxer yelled as bullets started pinging off of the Humvee.

Jack brought his rifle up looking for targets. He couldn't see over the wall but could tell the shooters were coming closer based on the sound.

 _"How many?"_ Jack asked.

Boxer was firing the fifty in three round bursts, _"got about six over here, you?"_

 _"Nothin yet, Mac?"_ Jack looked up, _"dammit Mac, what the hell are you doing?"_

Jack ran towards Mac, following his tracks. Mac was kneeling in the middle of the road using a large paint brush to sweep away the dirt.

Jack knew better than to run right up to Mac, he didn't want to set anything off.

 _"Mac, in case you haven't noticed, we've got a bit of a problem here, time to go. We need to get back to the truck, wait it out for air support. Come on."_ Jack said kneeling twenty feet away, rifle at the ready.

Mac ignored Jack and continued to clear the dirt away from the object. Finally getting a look at what he was dealing with, he stood up and started walking toward the humvee.

"I need to get some stuff from the truck, be right back," Mac said calmly.

Jack stood up, and before he could say anything, bullets started impacting the ground and walls around them. "Contact front!" Jack yelled firing at the new threat. Jack kept firing as he walked backward toward the vehicle.

Mac had the door open and was rummaging around the back of the hummer.

Jack made it to the side of the vehicle and was using the truck as a shield while he kept firing. "Mac, what the hell are you doing, get in the truck."

Mac stood up holding a couple of flares, he wiggled them and smiled. "You ready to get out of here?" Then he ran by Jack going back to the IED, with bullets zinging off the ground all around him.

"Cover!" Jack yelled moving forward keeping up a steady rate of fire, hoping to keep the enemy at bay.

Boxer turned the fifty in their direction and did the same.

Mac lit the flares, set them down on top of the IED and started running back toward the truck. His eyes widened when he saw Jack in front of him. "Jack, run!" he yelled waving toward the humvee.

Jack had no intention of running until Mac made it past him to safety. The enemy had different plans.

"RPG!" Boxer yelled from his perch in the humvee.

Several things happened at once, Jack fired the last round of his rifle ammo and was reaching for his pistol when he looked up and saw Mac running full speed right at him eyes wide, Jack had just enough time to brace for the impact as Mac tackled him, knocking the air out of him.

A split second later, the RPG exploded sending dirt and rocks down on the men. A half second after that, Jack felt the ground shake. His ears were ringing and there was a weight on his chest.

Mac rolled off of him laying on his back, chest heaving.

Jack sat up pistol drawn looking for threats. "Boxer?"

 _"All good here_ , _think the bad guys turned tail and ran_ , _I got nobody_ , _you?"_ Boxer said from behind the fifty.

Jack turned and looked at Mac. "You ok?"

Mac sat up smiling somewhat dazedly looking down the street, inspecting his handiwork. "I think we should be able to get around that and get out of here." He said pointing proudly at the crater that was left in the road.

Jack got up and put a hand out to help Mac to his feet.

Mac grabbed Jack's hand and pulled himself to his feet with a groan.

"We gotta get out of here before they come back," he yelled grabbing Mac's arm and practically dragging Mac behind him.

 _He's pissed_ , Mac thought as he got in the truck.

Boxer climbed down from the fifty and jumped in the driver's seat. When Jack got in the cab, he was greeted by a wide eyed Billy. Jack looked at Boxer. "When'd he wake up?" Jack said pointing a thumb over his shoulder.

"About the second time Mac ran up the road." Boxer said driving forward, "he's alright, I cancelled the dust off."

"Billy, get up on that fifty till we get outa here." Jack ordered, jaw clenched.

Once they were clear of the village and back in the open road, Jack turned to look in the back seat. "Billy, come on down from there, get Mac outa his gear and check him over real good."

"Jack, I'm fine," Mac started to protest.

The look he received from Jack made him think otherwise.

Billy did as he was told, not wanting any part of the angry Sergeant's wrath.

"You've got a few small punctures on your shoulders and your vest is toast." Billy said to Mac.

Before Mac could respond, a small med kit came flying at him from the front of the cab. _Yep, definitely pissed_. Mac thought as he shared a look with Billy.

0-0-0

When they reached the base, they dropped Billy off, "Box, head on over to the med unit." Jack said without looking at him.

Jack turned and pinned Mac in his seat with a laser stare.

"I'm fine Jack," Mac said annoyed, "you know I out rank you right?"

"Not in my unit you don't, you're going to get those wounds looked at Mac," Jack turned and fixed Mac with a fierce stare. "Jesus Man, we just got you back, I'm not gonna have you go down because of some damn infection again."

Boxer knew better than to get in the middle of Jack and Mac, when they were having a battle of wills.

The humvee pulled up to the med unit, "I want the paperwork when you're done," Jack said as Mac got out.

Mac slammed the door and stomped toward the aid station. When he reached the door, he looked back. The humvee hadn't moved and Jack was still watching him.

Mac rolled his eyes, pushed the door open and walked in.

"Go easy on the kid boss, we just got him back," Boxer said pulling away from the aid station.

"That's the problem Box, he doesn't take his own safety seriously, and he doesn't listen!" Jack said voice rising.

"Calm down Wyatt, he's just young, hell, you used to think you were invincible, even in high school... All I'm saying is, don't kill him when he gets back, I'd hate to have to break in a new EOD tech." Boxer said smiling.

"Head on over to supply, gotta get the damn kid a new vest." Jack said still not finding the humor in the situation.

0-0-0

When Mac returned to the crews quarters the Delta unit had been assigned, he was carrying a small bag and had his paperwork in hand.

"Hey Stoney, you seen Jack?" Mac said to the man lying on the bench press lifting more weight than the large man weighed.

Stoney racked the weight as if it took no effort and sat up on the bench. "Hey Mac, glad to see you back, you ok?" Stoney said indicating the small bag he recognized from the med unit.

Mac held up the bag, "yeah, just some antibiotic ointment and band aids." Mac rolled his eyes. "I told Jack I was fine, but he wouldn't take my word for it."

"Well, you can't blame the boss, he's just worried about you Mac, I think him and the boys are sparring out back. Either that or they're getting the bar b que fired up, we're doing steaks tonight, sort of a welcome back dinner." Stoney said laying back on the bench and lifting the weight off the hooks as if it were nothing.

"Thanks Stoney, you know, if you keep lifting like that, you're going to end up with man boobs." Mac smiled and started to run away when Stoney set the weight with a loud clang and and sat up, "I'll show you man boobs you little twig." He said smiling as Mac ran around the corner.

Mac stopped running as soon as he made it around the corner of the building. He was happy to see his friends and was smiling, letting his mind wander, when he ran headlong into Jack.

"Oomph, sorry, Jack, I didn't see you, I was just..." Mac was interrupted by Jack.

"Stop, what did the medics say?" Jack asked placing his hand on Mac's chest.

"Oh, uh, they said I was fine, just gave me some ointment and band aids." Mac said holding up the bag.

"So, no broken bones? no stitches? No concussion?" Jack asked coming closer with every question, so much so that Mac had backed up into the building.

Jack planted his hands on the wall on either side of Mac's head, and fixed him with a stare that had Mac starting to squirm.

"No, just a few scrapes is all, I'm good." Mac said eyes searching for an escape.

Jack leaned so close their noses were almost touching. "That's good," Jack said with a murderous grin.

Mac tried to duck under Jack's arms. Jack grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed Mac back to the building, "Then listen to me, and I'm only going to say this once." Jack was practically growling, "The next time you decide to go off by yourself and play with explosives in the middle of a firefight, after I tell you to stay in the truck... If we make it back in one piece, I swear to God, I will take you behind the wood shed and tan your hide!"

When he saw the wide eyed look on Mac's face, he knew his message had been received. Lowering his hands he turned and started to walk away.

Mac recovered from the shock of Jack's threat. "But we don't have a wood shed Jack!" He said, grinning, trying to diffuse Jack's anger.

Jack stopped and turned around, striding quickly toward Mac, looking like a charging bull.

Mac looked for an escape, but Jack was already on him. Jack grabbed him by the shirt, practically lifting him off the ground and shoved him against the building. "I will build one." Jack practically growled every word.

Mac swallowed, genuinely intimidated. "I'm sorry Jack, I just thought..."

Jack relaxed his grip, and straightened Mac's shirt as if he was brushing off dirt. "That's the thing Mac, you think too much and that brain of yours takes over." Jack sighed, his anger fading, "you can't keep running off into the middle of a freaking firefight just because there's a puzzle to solve." Jack ran a hand over his head and leaned against the building.

"I know Jack, I just, well I don't know, when I'm doing my thing, everything around me sort of disappears." Mac said, joining Jack leaning against the building still eyeing the older man warily.

"Well, that's gotta change man, or you're gonna get yourself killed. If that happens, I'll probably be dead too. And, for your information, I plan on being around for a while, so don't screw that up alright?" Jack said looking Mac in the eye, all signs of anger gone.

"Alright Jack, I'll try to wait until the bad guys go away before _not_ blowing us all up." Mac smiled.

Jack smiled and pushed off the wall, shaking his head, "There's a new vest on your bunk, try to keep this one in one piece for more than a week, supply's gonna start charging me for those things." Jack said and walked away.

0-0-0

"How'd it go?" Boxer asked.

"About as you'd expect, I think some of my message got through, but I swear, Box, that kid is gonna make me go gray early." Jack said smiling.

"I hate to tell ya bud, but you're already on your way." Boxer said ducking as he dodged the half empty water bottle.

"So, what time are we going active?" Boxer asked with a grin.

"We gotta wait a bit, the Rangers usually go out for P.T., around eighteen hundred." Jack said looking at his watch.

I'll cover the front, you can run in and grab the steaks, here." Jack said as he was drawing the building plans in the dirt.

"Think we should bring Stoney?" Boxer asked pointing to the dirt drawing. "He can cover our six, maybe get Mac for overwatch."

"Nah, this is a two man op." Jack said wiping the drawing away with his boot.

"The Rangers are gonna be pissed," Boxer said, chuckling.

"Probably, but the kid's worth it," Jack said smiling.

~fin~

A/N: I hope this lives up to your expectations, I didn't beat the guys up so I hope it met the the 'almost getting killed' portion of the prompt.

I took creative license with the loose chain of command in this as far as Mac and Jack were concerned.


End file.
